Essay On Becoming A Mental Health Counselor

I researched the Texas state laws and the Oregon state laws for the licensing of professional counselors. The Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors requires a graduate level degree, supervised practicum experience, passing score for the National Counselor Exam and the Texas Jurisprudence Exam, and an internship. Texas offers two levels of credentialing which are the Licensed Professional Counselor Intern (LPC-I) and the Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). As a LPC-I, the person is allowed to practice as a counselor while gaining the experience and intern hours needed to be a Licensed Professional Counselor (Counseling licensure in Texas, 2015).

Not only does the unlicensed person need to be registered with the state, but they must also complete the jurisprudence examination. The registration must include a multitude of information including disclosure statement, therapeutic orientation, and experience. C.R.S. 12-43-702.5 (2017) states that “a registered psychotherapist shall not use the term "licensed", "certified", "clinical", "state-approved", or any other term or abbreviation that would falsely give the impression that the psychotherapist or the service that is being provided is recommended by the state.” (section 3)

A doctoral degree combining both supervisory professional mental health counseling skills and counselor education has always been at the forefront of both my personal and professional goals. Being afforded the opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision will allow me the ability to enhance my professional competencies and achieve my set goals. My primary desire is to obtain a position as a college professor that will allow me to nurture the professional growth and maturity of future mental health professionals. Pursuing the doctoral degree will simultaneously assist in developing skillsets that will further prepare me for advanced opportunities in not only teaching but supervision and research. Additionally, I desire to devote time and research to small rural communities to establish prevention based programs that will bridge communities as it relates to mental health challenges. A PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from Capella University will afford me the opportunities to positively impact change in future professionals and the communities for which I serve.

Many people in our world today struggle with mental health issues. Licensed Professional Counselors are there to help. “One of the largest categories of professional helpers is counselors” (Woodside and McClam, 2015. p.182). Let’s take a close look at what Licensed Professional Counselors do, their educational requirements, certification or licensure levels or requirements, and last, we will take a look at salary and evaluate the future of this profession.

A mental health counselor often helps their clients make positive choices and changes due to the decisions and insights they help facilitate. Many counselors work in hospitals with psychiatric patients or with mentally ill adults in continued day treatment programs. Some choose private practice or practice in counseling centers, government agencies, and corporations and youth homes. They usually work in pleasant and comfortable surroundings, working a standard workweek. Some counselors are available weekends or evenings for the convenience and needs of their clients. Mental health counselors are an extremely valuable part of the healthcare system.

They are trained to diagnose individuals provied that they have had years of supervised training in clinical work experience. To become a mental health counselor you need to obtain your bachelor’s degree followed by a Masters Degree in mental health counseling. It said by Bureau of Labor and Statistics that Mental Health Counselors in New York salary is about $41,700 on average yearly. Next you have Clinical Social Worker. A clinical Social Worker have the same job description and qualifications as an mental health counselor however they do more advocating and case management, most offten found in a hospital setting. In fact it is said by bureau labor and statistics that social workers that work in a hospital setting salary is about

The Mental Health Counselor career provides you with the freedom to choose the dates, times, and lengths of observations and meetings. To accomplish this, you will need extra studies, and a state license(Learn.org). This will also be based on what kind of condition a patient is in, and the need of the patient. The working environment is normally indoors, with climate controlled atmosphere. It should usually have a thermostat. Sometimes you could even work inside of your home. causing a cozy and welcoming atmosphere for you and your

Up to two to three years of work experience, internships and professional counselor outlook is a must. Internships are said to be the most important part on the path to becoming any sort of counselor. During these internships students are required to participate in assigned community group sessions, private-tutor individual sessions, present and organize group lessons, participate in student achievement activities and excel in mock/exit level interviews. By doing all this you will hopefully gain confidence in real a real life setting with a mentor constantly guiding you to the point that you no longer need them. Moreover it gives you a real life perspective of whether this career is for you or not while opening your eyes to your own abilities. And lastly after partaking in about two to three years under supervision, this gets you ready for the licensing exam (The National Counselor Examination or the “NCE”) which is a 200 question application based test that includes the entire curriculum and is timed for 4 hours exactly. The curriculum will test as following counseling issues, processes, assessments and diagnostics, professional development and consultation, professional practice, human growth and development, relationship work, group work, social and cultural diversity, research and evaluation, and ethics.

Across the United States, there are different licensing procedures and protocol for each state in regards to Licensed Professional Counseling. Pennsylvania’s state licensure requirements were obtained through the Department of Services website under the State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors.

These may include systemic, object relations, intergenerational, and behavioral, as well as others. Students will need to have some coursework in marriage and family studies, and marriage and family therapy before they can begin their practicum. Several in-state programs that are not COAMFTE-accredited were approved by the Board as having met their requirements. The Board has also included which in-state programs will work for a candidate who wants to get dual licensure as a counselor and marriage and family therapist (MFT,

Counselors will require one week of individual study and one week of workshop participation with pilot and corrections. The program will ensure that the Train-the-Trainer session will take three to four days of release

After graduation, I would like to work in the mental health and substance abuse field. It’s my goal and intention to provide treatment to individuals and families who are struggling with mental, behavioral, emotional disorders and substance abuse through counseling and therapy. However, in order to achieve that goal, first, I had to become a License Clinical Social Worker. if possible, my anticipation is to get a license in California or Colorado. However, the social work licensing stated that if a Clinical social worker is going to diagnose and treat mental disorders, the person has to become licensed in all 50 states. I don’t know how that works, but I supposed I will find out. Also, the process requires not only master’s level education,

Counselors need to be enrolled in a degree program. Next is to hold a masters degree in an acceding counseling program that is recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation. The counseling program must include the theory of counseling or psychotherapy and coursework in at least six content areas:

Licensure can be a tricky part of when becoming a licensed alcohol and drug counselor. All required college classes must be taken. Then, 880 hours of internship must be completed in order to take the board exam. However, ethical codes can make it hard for licensed clinicians to continue practicing if not followed.

So for this position here, and for a lot of the counseling positions, you need to at least have a bachelors degree, and a masters degree in counseling; And this position, you also have to have a license. And so, post master degree you have to have so many clinical hours in order to sit for an exam and be licensed.